The San Francisco 49ers will stay in the Baltimore area for several days following their Aug. 7 preseason matchup against the Ravens to participate in joint practices with the team that beat them in Super Bowl XLVII.

The Ravens have never participated in joint practices with any team, although they did have scrimmages with the Washington Redskins. However, John and his brother, Jim Harbaugh, head coach of the 49ers, discussed the idea and decided to go ahead with it this year.

So, the day following their Aug. 7 preseason game at M&T Bank Stadium, the Ravens and 49ers will have a light workout at the downtown stadium the following day. The joint practices will then move to the Ravens' training facility in Owings Mills for three days before the 49ers head back west.

"I think it will be great to have the Niners in here," John Harbaugh said. "They were obviously one of the top two teams in the National Football League last year and some people think they were the best. Probably, the Niners feel that way. We’re glad to have them in here. We want to go against the best. We’re going to get out here for four days against those guys and get after it and become a better football team.

"I’m excited about the fact that we’ve never done it before and we are going against a program that we understand what they’re all about. We’re not bringing in some program in here that we don’t trust and does not believe in the things that we believe in as far as hard work. It’s going to be a program that mirrors what we try to do. To me, that’s really important. I think we’ll both get better as a result and hopefully the two head coaches won’t get locked in any kind of death grip. Dad will be breaking up all fights between the head coaches."